Sterling scholars do well at competition at CEU

By PATSY STODDARD Editor

Emery County students participated in the 27th annual sterling scholar awards on March 6 at the College of Eastern Utah.
The awards ceremony was hosted by Green River High School and Royd Hatt from the Emery County Board of Education was the master of ceremonies for the event.
Troop 289 scouts from Green River presented the flag ceremony and Sydney Thayn sang the National Anthem. Hatt announced that 64 outstanding scholars from Grand, San Juan, Emery and Carbon counties were present at the ceremony.
Emery School District Superintendent Kirk Sitterud spoke to the scholars and their parents. He said these students are the cream of the crop and the reason that many are in education. “You are the paycheck for your school teachers.”
Sitterud commended the students for their achievements and excellence. Sitterud offered the students a challenge and told them a story. He told of a man walking through the forest who saw a man building something with a hammer and a chisel and he asked the man what he was doing and he answered he was carving stone.
The man came upon another builder who was also carving stone and he asked him what he was doing. He replied he was carving stone for a building. The man came upon another man who said he was carving stone to build a building, a cathedral which would rise high into the sky and last for thousands of years.
“Each of these men were doing the same job, but the vision each held was very different. What is our vision? Are we building cathedrals or only chopping rocks? Don’t narrow your vision of what education is. You have excelled in one area, but don’t forget to see the whole picture. Excellence expands beyond one area. We are proud of you and your successes. It’s what our job as educators is all about. I wish you success in college and in your careers and good luck in all you do,” said Sitterud.
Hatt explained the sterling scholar program. Each school can enter one student in each of the 12 categories. The sterling scholar program is a celebration of high academic and personal standards. “There are many honors for athletes, rock stars, movie stars etc. but, there are few recognitions for academics. We wish to thank the judges who participated. When the students arrived they were interviewed by the judges. The judges also reviewed all of the portfolios which were made by each scholar. There will be one winner and two runners-up in each category.
Savannah Bayles, the sterling scholar in the general scholarship category honored the parents and teachers. She thanked them for helping the students stand tall and strong. “Our parents were our first teachers. They have given us their consistent support and we thank you for the unconditional love.”
Hatt presented the awards and students from Green River High helped pass out the awards. He read each of the contestants for the category and then the winner of each category was brought to the front to sit.
In the English category Carrie Fleck of Carbon was a runner-up; Jessica Hill of Emery was the winner and Raven KuyKendall from San Juan was a runner up.

In the Science category Brittanie Clarke from Emery was a runner up with Paul Goodrich of Carbon the winner and Jenna Hall of San Juan a runner-up.
In the Visual Arts category, Shawndean Blackhorse of Whitehorse was a runner-up; Jordan Loveridge from Grand was the winner and Jordan H. Tatton of Carbon was the runner-up.
In the Family and Consumer Science category, Kyla Lewis was a runner-up from Grand; Venyce Martinez from Carbon was the winner and Ashlin White from Emery was a runner-up.
In the Social Science category, Rikky Griffin-Foster from Grand was a runner-up, Tiffany Dawn Larsen from Carbon was a runner-up, Aysia Shumway from San Juan was the winner.
In the Business and Marketing category, Kevin Cannon from Grand was a runner-up, Jordan Christiansen from San Juan was a runner-up and Tiffany Larsen from Emery was the winner.
In the Mathematics category, Dallon Boyd was a runner-up from Monticello, Camille Fehlberg was the winner from Emery; and Kerby Smith from Grand was a runner-up.
In the Trade and Technical category, Bryan Ison from Emery was a runner-up and Ricky Lopez of Grand was the winner; Chad Sonderegger was the runner-up from Monticello.
In the Foreign Language category; Shalae Cox from Emery was a runner-up, Jessica Hawks from Grand was the winner and Jessica Juliano from Carbon was a runner-up.
In the Speech and Drama category, Jacie Fasselin from Emery was a runner-up, Anita Hunt from San Juan was the winner and Kevin Johnson from Carbon was a runner-up.
In the Music category, Kelli Christensen from San Juan was the winner, Emmanuel Gray from Monument Valley was a runner-up and Kirstin Hoyt from Carbon was a runner-up.
In the General Scholarship category; Jordan Grover from San Juan was a runner-up, Cooper Henderson of Grand was the winner and Kesler Tanner from Emery was a runner-up.